Tasting Rain : Imperial Melody
by Kohan
Summary: Sequel to CoS, The senshi are reborn, Usagi and Minako return to their time to search for them, only to find that the Gundam Wing boys have followed them. Usagi's the target of evil again, and, what's this? Relena, in the 21st century?
1. Ch1

Chapter 1  
By: Kohan

"Duo, up." Rei said, holding her small arms up over her head and jumping up and down.   
"You and me," Duo said, "We are going to have to work on our communication skills." He picked her up and put her on his shoulders. Duo and Rei had been walking in the park, when Rei's legs got tired, as most 3-year-olds do. "This baby talk is gonna have to stop, babe. I know you've got it in you to speak like a normal person."  
"Yeah, but it just goes with my character, though doesn't it?" Rei said, in perfect Japanese.   
"Your right, but no one's gonna hear us now."  
"I know. I feel like this 3-year-old gig has been overplayed, though. I'm already wanting to get out of it." They stopped at a bench, and Duo put Rei down. She swung her legs, which didn't reach the ground, and looked at her little red sandals.   
"I can just see how fast your growing, though. I know you'll be back to normal soon. Look, if I were smart enough, I could figure it out for you."  
"I can figure it out myself," Rei said,  
"Yeah?"  
"Yeah. Lesse, it took me two weeks to age three years, so 3*6 is 20, so that's 6 weeks, and subtract about 4 days from that, and I should be about 18."  
"And you'll start aging normally when you turn 18?" Duo asked.  
"Yeah...Hotaru stopped, didn't she?"  
"I guess. She was sure weird there for awhile there, though, huh? Your not going to turn that way on me, are ya, babe?"  
"No, I don't have all the weird stuff in my past that Hotaru does, either. Usagi says it was worse before Heero came back, she said she was a lot more aggressive."  
"Enough, this is depressing me. What say we go get an ice cream cone?" Duo said, standing up. "I know you want one."  
"This is nice, Duo." Rei said.  
"Nani?"  
"This. I don't want it to ever end."

***

"You baka onna! How could the Gods of cursed me with someone like you as a cooking partner!?"  
"Calm down, Wufei, you know, I'm not making that big of a mess. Besides, it's Rei-chan's job to push me around, just because she's on vacation, doesn't mean that you have to start in on me, too."  
"Okay, okay." Wufei said, taking a deep breath. "I'll clean up the spilled flour, you just try to keep everything in their respective bowl, okay?"  
"Yeah, yeah...hey where did Minako go?"  
"She headed off with Makoto and Trowa about a half hour ago, why?"  
"I was just wondering, do I have to have a reason?"   
"No." Wufei said, he was on his hands and knees with a sponge cleaning up the flour that had ended up on the floor. Usagi was busy shaking out her rag that she had just used to wipe the counter off with.   
"Hey! Baka! You just got flour on my head!"  
"Oops, sorry...guess I didn't see ya there!" Usagi said, and giggled. It felt so good to be home. She had moved into Setsuna's room when she had gone back to guard the time gates, and was now helping take care of Michiru and Haruka.   
"Usaggggiiiii!!!!!" Speak of the devil.  
"Haruka, stop screaming like a baby, I'm in the kitchen!" Usagi called down the hall. A few moments later, a four-year-old Haruka came into view with Michiru in tow.   
"_She_," Haruka said, pointing to Michiru, "stole my Sailoruranus doll!"  
"You _guys_! Please act your age!" Usagi said, "I mean the age you are inside. Haruka, you know Michiru is just doing that to annoy you, why don't you go out back and see what Quatre and Ami're doing? I'm sure he'll keep an eye on you for us." Usagi said, and looked out the window to see Quatre laying on a lawn chair in shorts, soaking up the last few rays of sun that they would probably get for the year. Three-year-old Ami was off in the grass examining a water bug that was hopping across the surface of the bird bath.   
"Okay, I'll go if you go, 'Ruka" Michiru said, and handed Haruka her Sailoruranus doll. Then she skipped out, and Haruka followed close behind.   
"I think their appearances are starting to rub off on their minds," Usagi said.   
"You know, onna, I think that you're changing into a more sensible person."   
"Thanks Wu-chan!" Usagi said, beaming. The she dropped a sack of flour on the floor "Um, so..." She said, looking down at it. "I'll get the broom..."

***

"You know guys, I'm really glad that your my friends, guys, 'cauz It's really good to have pals like you guys." Makoto said, swinging between Minako and Trowa's hands. Minako smiled a little, and wondered if her friend would ever get her memories back. Rei had gotten hers back when Sailormars came to her at night, but Makoto had never seen Sailorjupiter. Minako wondered if it wasn't for the better that she had lost her memories. Minako looked over at Trowa, wondering what he was thinking, and then back down at Makoto. Her brown hair was shining in the sun, and it was pulled on top of her head in a ponytail. "Um, did ya ever think that maybe perhaps we could get somefin' to eat, guys? 'Cauz Mr. Tummy down here is getting a little hungry, and he's just to scared to say anyfing out loud." Makoto said, and just then her stomach gave a huge growl. "I guess he's more confident then we thought!" She said.  
"Sure, we could get something to eat," Minako said, "Are you tired of Usagi's cooking yet, Trowa?"  
"Actually, I don't mind the cooking, but if I have to drink one more cup of Wufei's tea, I think I'll go crazy!" He said. Wufei had been supplying everyone tea those past few weeks, only Heero and Hotaru had had the mind to turn him down, saying that they would have Japanese tea, thank you very much.   
"I want some fries... and some ice cream would be good. Only I don't want a cone, because those things tend to melt in my hand, ya know." Makoto said, skipping along. Minako laughed.   
"Okay, we can go in a restaurantt, I'm buying. Which restaurant do you want, Mako-chan?"  
"Um, I dunno, whichever one sells fries and ice cream without the cone."  
"How about this one? It sells fries _and_ ice cream." Minako said, pointing to a small restaurant sitting on left-hand side of the street. Trowa nodded, and they walked in, the quietness of the restaurant suddenly downing out the loudness of the street. "Is that all you want, Mako-chan? Ice cream and fries?"   
"Yup, yup." Makoto said, and clapped her hands.   
"I could order for you if you want, Trowa-kun." Minako said, looking at Trowa. "What will you have?"  
"I think I'll have the same as Makoto over here." He said. Minako smiled a little and shook her head.   
"You can go find a seat, I'll be over as soon as I place our order." Trowa nodded again and took Makoto's hand and led her down the isles.   
"Oooh, I want to sit there...no..._there_..." Minako could hear Makoto say as the pair walked away. 

***

Hotaru and Heero sat peacefully on the edge of a fountain, Hotaru in her summer dress, and Heero in the regular.   
"It's funny," Hotaru said, gazing at the sun.  
"What is, Firefly?"  
"This world. It's different then I remember it, the people... they've changed."   
"How?"  
"They just seem different... I'm not able to put my finger on it... maybe it will come to me later."  
"Maybe."  
"What do you think? Coming here from a different dimension in the future..."  
"It's fine as long as your here. I came here to find you, remember."  
"I wonder... Since Mammoru and Usagi... never-mind."  
"What?"  
"About 3 years ago, Usagi met her daughter from the future, her and Mammoru's... and she fought with us. I'm just wondering if she's still alive... there being no more 'Mammoru and Usagi'."  
"The future's always changing... she probably disappeared the moment Mammoru thought up that stupid scheme to change Usagi."  
"Your probably right." Hotaru said and sighed. It was okay, though. She knew that Usagi was better off without Mammoru anyhow. "You think we should go back, see if Quatre needs any help with Michiru, Haruka and Ami?"  
"Hai, let's go pry Wufei off Usagi, he's probably strangling her by now." Heero said, Hotaru giggled and got up. 

***

"I need a break," Usagi said, flopping down on the couch. Wufei muttered something under his breath, it sounded like 'weak'. Usagi ignored it, and grabbed the remote to the television. She turned it on, and watched a newscaster speak for a few moments. After deciding that he had nothing to say worth hearing, she turned it off and sighed. The TV flicked back on.   
"What the--?" Usagi muttered, but before she could finish, the TV went off again. On again. Off again.  
"Your going to break that thing, onna!" Wufei yelled from the kitchen.  
"It's not me...!" Usagi yelled. Suddenly, something small and fuzzily fell into Usagi's lap. It was a lightish pinkish (AN: Are they words?) color and bore the strange appearance of a cat. Oh, it _was_ a cat, it just had it's tail to Usagi instead of it's face. Usagi gulped, oh no, not again...  
"Are you Tsukino Usagi?" Asked the cat. It stared up at her with huge purple eyes, and Usagi noticed that it had a eight-pointed star on it's head.   
"Um...um..." Usagi stuttered out...she hadn't heard a cat talk in weeks, not since Luna and Artemis...she had no idea where those two had gotten off to.   
"I see." Said the cat, and jumped down. Usagi hoped this cat wasn't going to be one of the smart-alek types. "My name is Keika. I'm assuming that you _are_ Usagi Tsukino, and this _is_ where you live?"  
"Y-yeah..."  
"Where, then, are the other senshi? Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Mercury? Where?"  
"Rei's out with Duo...Minako and Makoto are with Trowa and Ami's out back...who are you?...Why are you here?"  
"And the others? Pluto, where is she...? I must speak to her."  
"Who do you think you are!? Falling in here, demanding I answer your questions...you haven't given me one scrap of information at all!" Usagi yelled, getting up hurriedly.   
"I told you, my name is Keika, that's all you need to know." Said the cat impatiently. "Now please sit down... Princess."

***

"Quatre, play a game with me," Ami said, standing in front of Quatre. She had a pack of cards in her hand and was looking at him expectantly.   
"Sure, Ami-chan, what game?"  
"Go Fish." She said, and handed Quatre the cards. Quatre dealt them out, and they began to play, Michiru and Haruka hovered behind both of them.

About thirty minutes later....

"Do you have any five's?" Quatre said, getting quite bored with the game by now.  
"GO FISH!!" Ami yelled, her laughter filling the air. Quatre drew, it was an ace. Great, he didn't NEED an ace.   
"Do you have an ace?" Ami did. Quatre handed over the card. Just then, Duo came out.   
"Hey, Quatre!"  
"Duo?"  
"There's a talking cat in here!"  
"_What?"_ Said Quatre, getting up, Ami grabbed his hand.  
"Hey, we're not done with our game!" She said, Quatre shook her off, a little annoyed.  
"Not now, Ames," He said. Duo made a motion with his hands, urging Quatre to hurry up, like maybe the cat would be gone before he got there. Quatre followed Duo into the house, and saw Usagi sitting on the couch, next to her was Michiru, and they were both staring intently at the cat. The cat was about the weirdest thing Quatre had ever seen. He had never seen a cat with a star on it's forehead, or a PINK cat for that matter.   
"Speak!" Yelled Duo, "C'mon! I wanna let Quatre see you do it!" The cat gave Duo an annoyed look, and continued what it had been saying to Usagi and Michiru before Quatre came in.  
"As I was saying, you have an unclean soul among you...it may corrupt your pure light, Usagi." Quatre's mouth gaped open.   
"Who?"  
"I'm not sure yet...but that's why I was sent here..."  
"I see." Said Usagi, and she sat back. A few moments later, Hotaru came in with two cups of tea, and placed one in front of Usagi.   
"It's late." She said, "Perhaps we should put Ami and Makoto down for a nap when Trowa and Minako return." Usagi stared at her, then nodded. "There's someone at the door," Hotaru said, and then the doorbell rang. Usagi was beginning to feel that maybe Hotaru was turning into Rei... She however, got up and went to the door, turning around to give a glare at Keika, who jumped from the table to hide underneath it. Usagi opened the door.  
"Yes?" She asked. A girl about her age with dark blond hair tied out of her face in two braids was standing there...  
"Is this the Ten'ou/Tsukino/Kaiou/Tomoe residence?" She asked in an educated voice.  
"Yes it is, how may I help you...?" Usagi asked, looking doubtfully at her.  
"I'm here to speak to Heero Yuy, my name is Relena Peacecraft...is he in?"


	2. Ch2

Chapter 2  
By: Kohan

"Heero isn't in right now." Hotaru said plainly from the couch. "Your welcome to come in and wait until he returns, however."   
"Thank you," Relena said, and stepped inside.   
"Would you like some tea, um, Relena?" Usagi asked, looking around nervously to see if the cat had well ducked out of sight.   
"That would be nice, thank you." Relena took off her shoes and sat down in an armchair. "Do you have any idea when Heero will be returning? It is important that I speak to him."   
"It shouldn't be too long, though if I see him before he comes, I'll tell him to stay far away," Duo said from the kitchen doorway. He had a smirk on his face, and was leaning against the frame with his arms crossed.  
"Hello, Duo-kun." Relena said.  
"How in Shinigami's name did you get here, Relena? Certainly you didn't _fly_."   
"No. It was rather strange though," Relena said, "There was what appeared to be a time warp in my room, very interesting if you ask me."   
"Uh-huh." Duo said, not amused. Usagi returned with the tea, and handed it to Relena.   
"I don't believe I caught your name," She said to Usagi.  
"It's Usagi. Tsukino Usagi,"   
"Usagi I--" Wufei stopped walking in and talking when he saw Relena. "Um, cleaned up _your_ mess. What are _you_ doing here? Yuy won't be happy about this."  
"Why not, Wufei? You mean to tell me that he hasn't been missing me since the moment he arrived here?" Relena said, Wufei and Duo sweat-dropped. The door suddenly opened, revealing Heero with two rather large bags of groceries.  
"Next time one of you is coming to help me," came his muffled voice, "A little help here, Firefly? Usagi? Someone?" Hotaru got up, setting her tea down and picking up one of Heero's bags. Heero then spotted Relena. "_You._" He said.   
"Heero! I've missed you so!" Relena said, getting up, ready to fling herself into his pre-occupied arms when little Michiru and Haruka came running down the stairs.   
"That Sailoruranus doll is _mine_!" Haruka yelled. "_Mine_ you hear me!?"   
"Come and get it if ya want it!" Michiru said.   
"You two, act your ages!" Usagi said for the second time that day.   
"Sorry," Michiru said, "Heero, did you get any ice cream, I seem to be having a strange craving for that."  
"If he did get any ice cream, it's for _me_!" Haruka yelled, snatching her Uranus doll from Michiru.  
"No!" Michiru said. Usagi, Hotaru and Heero sweat-dropped, and Heero made a move to go into the kitchen. Relena, however, stepped in front of him, blocking his way.  
"Heero, didn't you miss me? I came here to find you...when I talked to that weird lady with green hair and found out that you we--"  
"You talked to Setsuna?" Usagi asked, completely ignoring the fact that she had just interrupted Relena Peacecraft.  
"Um, yes, if that's her name, as I was saying-"  
"Look Relena," Duo said, "can't you see that Heero is rather pre-occupied right now? I'm sure he'll be willing to pull out his gun and shoot you _after_ he puts away his groceries."

Heero walked into the kitchen after Hotaru and set his bag down at the counter.   
"She--she, she..."  
"Will hopefully be gone in the morning," Keika said, jumping onto the table. "I've never seen such a nosy person." Heero stared at Keika. Did that cat just speak?  
"_What_ are you and who do you work for?" He said, pulling out his gun.  
"Heero, don't shoot her. She's just a regular cat that can...talk..." Hotaru said.   
"I can see that."  
"This could be a problem, she obviously is a civilian, and we can't have her running around here when we've got 5 girls who just _happen_ to be growing up faster then normal." Keika said.  
"How did you know about that?" Hotaru asked.   
"I know about a lot more then you think, Destruction."  
"Please don't call me that," Hotaru said softly. "It's a part of me that doesn't deserve a name."  
"Weather it deserves a name or not, it's still a part of you, a part you can't hide from, just like Mr. Perfect Soldier over here." Keika jerked her head towards Heero who was putting away several boxes of cereal.  
"Heero!" Duo's voice came from the living room. "Hurry up! We don't want to be stuck with her any longer then you do!"  
"Why don't I just put her out of her misery... it would do everyone a favor."  
"You can't just go around killing innocent people." Hotaru said, "It's not um, fair? Sportsmanlike? Honorable?"  
"Don't worry about it, I wasn't going to _kill_ her..."  
"Oi! Heero, in here, buddy!" Duo's voice yelled again. Heero shrugged and put his gun away, Keika seemed to relax a little.   
"Have some tea, Heero." Hotaru said, "I hope you bought more, otherwise we will be drinking Wufei's tea any time now."  
"No, I brought more," Heero said, taking the cup Hotaru offered. Hotaru looked outside, the twilight was quickly falling, and she wondered briefly when Minako and Trowa would be back with Makoto. _Clouds are coming in_, she thought, seeing the approaching clouds and regarding them with a shiver. So this _was_ the last day of good weather. Hotaru noticed there was such a uneasy stillness in the air and wondered if it had anything to do with the coming of Relena Peacecraft.   
"_Heero!_"  
"I think we should go in before Duo blows an artery." Hotaru said, and opened the door to the kitchen. Heero followed her, Keika stayed behind, remembering Usagi's sharp look. 

"It took you long enough." Duo huffed. Heero gave him a death glare.   
"What are you doing here, Relena?" He said in monotone.  
"I came to see you, I've missed you... I know you missed me too..."  
"No, what are you _really_ doing here?" Duo said. "Do you know where you are?"  
"Of course I do! It's the 21st century, a time known as AD!" Relena said, Duo nodded, but he still didn't look impressed.   
"There's no way you can _stay_ here," Usagi said from the couch. Hotaru nodded, it was a very bended rule that allowed Heero and the others to stay, but this girl certainly was no exception.  
"There's not exactly any way she can leave, either." Said a voice from the doorway. Setsuna stood there, she looked very harassed and tired.  
"Setsuna?" Usagi said, "What are you doing here?"  
"What do you mean we can't send her back?" Wufei said, a look of fear on his face.  
"I have just closed the Gates, and I will not be returning to the 4th dimension until they re-open, which will not be for several years."  
"How, _how could you_? You mean to tell us that we're here...stuck with her!?" Duo yelled.   
"Quite on the contrary." Setsuna said, "It looks to me like she is stuck with _you_."

***

"Well, I'm glad _that's_ over." Usagi huffed out, entering the house after she returned from taking Relena to find an apartment. It had taken her more then two hours to get everything sorted out, and Usagi was tired. Hey--where was everyone? "Helloooo...minna..." Usagi whispered. She crept into the hallway and stuck her head into Michiru and Haruka's room. There, on their big bed, lay Rei, Michiru, Haruka, Ami and Makoto. That was to be expected. Usagi knew that to grow faster, they needed a lot of sleep. She shut the door quietly behind her, and tiptoed down the hall farther, to Hotaru's room. She peeked in, but only the dancing moon rays could be seen on the bed. Usagi was stumped. She then looked in the room she was sharing with Minako--Setsuna's old room, and found Minako asleep on her bed. Setsuna had left a few hours earlier, fatigue getting to her, saying that she would sleep at a hotel for that night until she could rent an apartment. Okay, Setsuna had left, but where were the boys and Hotaru? Usagi silently walked to the kitchen and stuck her head in the door. Hotaru and Heero were seated at the table, speaking softly to each other. _Awww, how sweet, I'm gonna cry now_. Usagi thought, and closed the door, since neither Heero nor Hotaru had spotted her.   
"Well, this is just peachy!" Usagi said loudly.  
"Be quiet, onna! You'll wake up the whole damn house!" Wufei said from the couch, where he had been sleeping on the fold-out bed. Usagi regarded him with a piercing look, and skipped over to the TV. She pulled out a bag of cookies from her stash, and then bounded onto Wufei's bed.  
"Aw, put a sock in it, Wu-chan. I was just gonna eat some cookies, ya want some?"  
"Cookies?" Wufei said, looking interested.   
"Ah, so the honorable Wufei _does_ have a weak point!" She said, taking out several cookies and handing them to Wufei, she claimed quite a few for herself as well. "So, how did things go? I mean, after I got that Relena girl out of here."  
"Duo almost broke down in tears of happiness, and I swear I saw a smile break Yuy's face. I would have served her justice though, Nataku would have been proud."  
"Who's Nataku?" Usagi asked.  
"Nataku is my...well...it's a long story."   
"I've got time," Usagi said, with interest. She propped herself on her elbows and continued to eat her cookies. So, Wufei told Usagi all about Nataku and the Gundam days. She listened with an open mind, amazed at what Wufei had gone through, and his willingness to tell her about it. 

"I wish I had something like that...I mean, I do, but it's just a rock... it's nothing as great as something like a spirit."  
"A rock?" Wufei said skeptically.  
"Yeah--actually, it's a crystal." Usagi said, pulling her brooch out of her space pocket. She opened it and showed Wufei the silver crystal inside that was her own. "It's saved my life more then once, I guess, and it's special and all." Usagi flipped the brooch around in her fingers akwordly. "Well, thanks Wu-chan, for telling me this...It's nice to hear a story that isn't my own." Usagi said, looking up. She had never realized the intensity of Wufei's onyx eyes. They were..._pretty_, and in that instant, Usagi felt herself being drawn into Wufei's stare. Just as Usagi was caught up in Wufei's eyes, a solitary dragon was being tempted into a pool of pure blue.

***

AN: Okay, that's it for now, minna-san. You won't be seeing anything for awhile because I'm goin' on vacation this week...gonna be lots o' fun! So, wish me lots o' fun, k? Anyway, Just to let ya' know, peoples who have been kinda following what I do- I'm working on River of White. Re-writing it and such, I'm still on the prelude, but it's turning out better then before, so you should be proud of me. Oh, and just to let you know beforehand, this won't be a deathfic, the last one was, and I think that was pretty weepy, and all's good that ends good, right? I'm feeling happier now, cauz' I got my report card and I got a B in math! Happiness fills me!! I was kinda worried there for awhile, I was sick for two straight weeks, and the baka math teacher didn't tell me a bloody thing about what we were doing! So, I did better then I thought I would, got a B in math and a B in LA. My baka History teacher told me that I got an A in History, but NO! It was an A-. (Sorry, I look for perciseness in EVERYTHING!) Oh, boy, this note is turning out to be a novel, ne? Okay, well I'll talk to ya'll later! Ja-ne!


	3. ch3

Chapter 3By:

Chapter 3  
By: Kohan

A few moments of silence passed between Usagi and Wufei, but the silence was suddenly broken when a loud sneeze erupted from the kitchen. Wufei looked a little disturbed for a moment, and the house filled with the sound of more sneezing. Wufei's cheeks got red, like he was holding back a yell or a laugh. Usagi looked at him in confusion, as the sneezing continued. Wufei continued to get redder and redder until he burst, falling back on his back and clutching his stomach, he let out a laugh. Usagi frowned a little.  
"I'm sorry...(laugh)...I'm not laughing at _you_...(giggle)...It's just...It sounds like Yuy might be sneezing... (hysterical laughter)"  
"So what if Heero's sneezing?" Usagi asked, confused, she had _never_ thought that Wufei was capable of laughing so hard. Wufei stopped laughing for a moment.   
"He's never sneezed before...never been sick or anything." Wufei said, his face brightening again. "And now it sounds like it's hitting him hard! HA! Yuy! Serves you right!"  
"Wufei! You'll wake up the whole house!" Usagi whispered.  
"If everyone isn't awake already!" Wufei said, still rolling on his back on the bed. The kitchen door opened, and Heero appeared, holding his nose with a large wad of tissue paper. Hotaru followed him, looking concerned.   
"What is it, Yuy? Do you have a cold?!"  
"Shut up, Wufei." Heero said in a very nasal voice. Hotaru gave Wufei a stern look and he stopped laughing for a time.  
"Your sick, Heero, maybe you should go to bed..." Hotaru said.  
"I am not sick." Heero said, "This is a joke,"  
"Heero..." Usagi said, but was cut off by more sneezing and some coughing by the Perfect Soldier.  
"Ah, she's right, Yuy." Wufei said seriously. "wouldn't want it to get worse, would you?"  
"Like you would _know_." Heero said.  
"Huh?" Usagi asked.  
"What? Oh, he's been putting on the act of 'Ha ha, Yuy's sick' has he?" Heero asked, he sounded tired and annoyed. "Wouldn't want him getting sick, would you? He's never had more then a sniffle." Wufei palled a little, then straightened up.   
"So? I am not weak enough to become ill..." Usagi jabbed Wufei in the ribs.   
"You know, Wu-chan, I think you might as well go to bed yourself... like Heero said, wouldn't want _you_ getting sick."  
"But..." Wufei said in a small voice, but Usagi put her hands on her hips and frowned. Wufei pulled the covers around him and laid his head on a pillow.  
"Aw, shit." Wufei said and turned over.

***

After a night of serious coughing and sneezing, the Perfect Soldier wasn't looking so good. His nose was red from blowing it, he was tired, and all he wanted was a cup of coffee. Unfortunately for him, that's not what he was gonna get.  
"You can't have any coffee, Heero!" Hotaru said, hands on her hips. She had been arguing with him straight for the last 5 minutes. He crossed his arms and sighed. "Quatre's gone to the store to get you some medication and carbonated drinks."  
"Medication doesn't work on me," He said, "We have to get me better the old fashioned way...I'm immune to anything that might make me drowsy or anything that has any side effects at all." Hotaru pondered this a moment. Good Lord, why in God's name would they make him immune to cough syrup?  
"Well, just stay away from the coffee okay? I don't think all that caffene is good for you." Hotaru said and walked out. Setsuna was getting ready to speed up time on the others, and everyone had gathered in the living room.  
"He's no better, is he?" Duo said. Hotaru shook her head,  
"And all he wants is _coffee_. He won't drink tea or anything else...there's no way I'm giving him anything with caffine to him, and unfortunately we have no decaffeinated coffee."   
"You might as well let him have what he wants. It's not all the time he actually asks for something."  
"Do you know what caffine does to a sick person? He won't be able to sleep at all...and since we can't give him any medication that will work, he's going to need all the sleep he can get."  
"I see. Well, you'd better not drink any coffee in front of him, wouldn't want to think of the consequences."  
"I don't drink coffee." Hotaru stated plainly. Duo gave her a critical look, but when Setsuna transformed, his eyes were drawn back to the scene at hand.   
"This should work for all of them, then, Setsuna?" Usagi asked.   
"Yes, all of them should be back to their normal ages when I'm done."  
"Good, then maybe when I'm talking to one of them, they'll sit still." Keika said, she had been watching from behind Rei.  
"Stand back, minna, wouldn't want you to become 100 years old, would we?" Setsuna said as a ball of energy gathered in her garnet orb. The others moved back a few paces and watched Setsuna with anticipation. The energy shot forth from the staff and encircled the five senshis. Before their eyes, a great blast of light issued from the center of the circle, and when it cleared, Rei, Ami, Michiru and Haruka were standing at their regular height. Makoto hadn't grown at all, and she was still very confused at why they were there, why people were growing so fast, and what that lady had just turned into. Oh, and she was also confused at why there had been a talking cat here just a minute ago, but the cat was gone, and in her place stood a human girl about 16 years old.   
"AAhhh! What did you do to me!? What? I'm not a human! I'm a cat!" Keika yelled, hiding behind Rei to conceal her naked body from the others. Her hair was light pink, almost white, and it went a little past her shoulders in waves, there was still a 8-pointed-star on her forehead.  
"What did you do to me, Pluto? How did you do it to me? You control time, not form! Oh, God! I only have two legs! What am I gonna do!?"  
"Calm down, Keika." Pluto said, "I don't know what happened, but I'm sure it can be fixed.  
"Do you mind?" Rei said, she was quite uncomfortable in her small Japanese Kimono...it was a few sizes too small for her.  
"Why didn't it work on Mako?" Usagi asked, pointing to the small girl who was looking around wide-eyed at everything that had changed.  
"Maybe because Sailorjupiter hasn't come to her yet, she has no memories, perhaps."  
"AAHH! I need clothes! I'm naked! _Help_ me!" Keika yelled.  
"Close your eyes, guys." Usagi ordered and grabbed Keika's hand. Stumbling, Keika followed Usagi awkwardly. Usagi led her into her room to find something suitable for the...cat. Rei and the others very quickly ran into their respective rooms to change, voices could be heard from their rooms:  
"Oh, ow...why me...ow..."  
"This hurts! Oww...oh...I need a haircut...  
"Aaahh...ouchies! Oh my toes...owww...Michiru...my toes...owwww..."

***

"Usagi...I can't be a human...I can't! It's not fair...it's so hard! I've never had trouble walking in my life! I'm so tall! Look at me! This hair...it's the same color as _my_ hair, but it's not the same! It's annoying and _long_! I liked being a cat!"  
"Oh, stop your complaining, would you? Surely being a human isn't that bad! And I can fix your hair, see?" Usagi said, and put Keika's hair into two braids on the sides of her head. "Here." Usagi handed Keika a pair of white leggings and a red shirt. "You can wear these until we go shopping for something that fits you..."  
"Usagi...thanks." Keika said, and got into the clothes. Usagi walked out of her room and closed the door behind her. She sighed heavily and walked into the living room. Makoto was sitting on the couch, her little hands in her lap, looking up at Duo and Rei who were scratching their heads as they studied her. Usagi walked up and stood next to Rei for a moment, also scratching her head.  
"Um, scuze me? What are you lookin' at, Usagi? And how'd ya get so big, Rei?"  
"Long story Squirt." Duo said, and ruffled her ponytail.   
"I think it's time for your nap, Mako." Usagi said.  
"But I just got up!"  
"Yeah, after watching 2 hours of cartoons in bed!" Minako called from the kitchen where she was making tea. Makoto smiled politely up at Rei, Duo and Usagi.   
"Okay, I'll take a nap...but you all's better think up a good scuze for that cat turnin' into a naked girl." Mako said and jumped down. In one swift movement she seized Duo's hand and dragged him away. Rei sat down heavily on the couch.   
"That was a laugh," She said. "So, let's look at our standing point here...we've got one cat who's turned into a human; a girl who should be 18 but is only 3; one girl who's probably very anxious to give an apology; a guy who's sick with a cold and can't be given any medicine; and a senshi who can change things...this could be a problem." Rei said in one breath. "Not to mention the fact that I think Wu-man over there is about to fall asleep in his cup of tea." Rei said, nodding to Wufei who was lightly dozing, his head swaying uncertainly. "I would say things couldn't possibly get any worse." Rei said. The door then opened to reveal Quatre with a small bag of groceries, as well as Relena who was holding a nurse's bag. "I was wrong." Rei said, her face falling. 

"Quatre...I don't know if bringing her here was the best idea..." Usagi said.  
"It's not my fault! She happened to be at the same checkout counter as me, and I was talking to the clerk about Heero being sick and all...she is an eavesdropper! She followed me!" Quatre said, setting down his groceries. Relena was already skipping through the house, looking for Heero.  
"Heero! Are you here?"  
"Relena, do you mind?" Usagi said, "He is sick you know...he might be sleeping."  
"I don't think so." Relena said. Hotaru sighed, and picked up a cup of tea and walked upstairs.   
"Where's she going?" Relena said, watching Hotaru skeptically.  
"Um...to watch check on Makoto...she's uh...taking a nap." Usagi said, looking in the bag of groceries and frowning a little. Just then, Keika decided to grace them with her presence.

"What are _you_ doing here?" She narrowed her eyes at Relena.  
"Um, I don't believe we've met." Relena said, holding out her hand.  
"I'm Relena Peacecraft, of the Sanq Kingdom."  
"Keika...Tsukino, of the Moon Kingdom."  
"Moon Kingdom?"  
"Yes. The dominating kingdom of Earth."  
"Excuse me?" Relena said, giving Keika a look of bewilderment. Usagi's eyes grew large, she knew they had stepped in a hole that they could not be dug out of now. 

***

Hotaru knocked lightly on the door to Heero and Duo's room, and when no one answered, went in. Heero was asleep, breathing heavily. Let him sleep... Hotaru put the cup of tea down on the nightstand and watched Heero's chest rise and fall for a few minutes. He looked like a little boy when he slept...funny. Hotaru turned off the overhead light and closed the door...perhaps Relena would overlook this room. Hotaru walked down the stairs to the sound of Keika's voice, which sounded irritated.  
"You stupid girl, there will be no Sanq Kingdom...your future will not be a reality, there will be only the Moon Kingdom...open your eyes. You have been saved for some reason...that which I am not sure of, but you have. So be greatful! As the world knows it, you are no longer 'Queen Relena', you are a citizen, so act like one."

***

AN: Well, there ya are! Enjoy! I'm back from my vacation, so you won't have to wait weeks and weeks for me to get out another chapter :) Ja ne!


	4. Ch4

Chapter 4By:

Chapter 4  
By: Kohan

"What are you saying? That I come from a place that no longer exists?" Relena said. "I was just there."  
"If something changes in the past, it changes the future. Since you came here, there is no reason for the pilots to return to your time, your not there to protect anymore. With them here, the future is already changed. Usagi's life is changed, therefore is Crystal Tokyo." Keika said.  
"What are you not saying, Keika?" Hotaru said from the stairway, Usagi looked up at the sound of her voice.  
"I am not saying the future, Hotaru. There are things that you shouldn't know about your future life. All I can say is that you'd better prepare for what is to come."  
"I don't know who you people are, but you'd better give me some straight answers, or I'm going to take drastic measures, I'll see y--"  
"Relena, do you want to hear what they have to say or not?" Heero said in a tired voice, he had appeared behind Hotaru in the last minute. He was wrapped in a white quilt and looked annoyed.  
"Heero! Are you okay?!" Relena said, and started to walk forward, Usagi grabbed her hand to stop her.   
"You want some straight answers? Okay, Relena. Do you know anything about the past? What's happened, the people there, anything?"  
"Of course I do, I'm not stupid."   
"Coulda fooled me," Keika muttered, she took a seat next to Wufei on the couch. Usagi gave her a harsh look, while Heero and Hotaru walked into the living room and sat down on the floor.   
"Well, I'm sure whatever you've heard is wrong. There was a time called the Silver Millennium, and the Moon Kingdom ruled over it on the Moon..."

***

Usagi spent most of the day telling Relena about the Moon Kingdom and what she knew. By 4:00, Heero had fallen asleep, Wufei was again lightly dozing in his 4th cup of tea (yikes!), and Makoto was up from her nap. Setsuna and Ami set to work on solving the problem of why Makoto hadn't grown, and why she didn't have her memories back.   
"I've done some calculations on my computer, Setsuna, and I found that she is now aging at a normal rate," Ami said, she could still hear the murmur of Usagi's voice in the living room. Every few minutes she would hear a 'hmph' from Relena or a gasp of surprise. Several corrections from Keika were made, and Ami had a hunch that Hotaru was about on her last lid.  
"Really..." Setsuna said, considering, "That's strange,"  
"Setsuna, I, er, I wanted to say how sorry I am, I mean about the ma--"  
"It's okay," Setsuna said quickly. "all is forgiven." Ami smiled and looked back at her computer where a small image of Makoto was portrayed, along with the structure of her brain.  
"What are you working on, Ami?" Quatre asked, coming in, Ami looked up from her computer and smiled.  
"In a sense, working on Makoto. We can't figure out why she hasn't gotten her memories back, I got mine back when time was sped up, but she hasn't."  
"Did you ever wonder that maybe she doesn't want her memories back?"

***

Hotaru was still in the living room, Heero had fallen asleep with his head on her lap, and she didn't want to wake him, it was nearly 7:00. Relena and Usagi had left hours ago, to get Relena's things, she would be staying with them until they were sure that she would keep their secret. This, of course, was Keika's idea, who insisted that the girl couldn't be trusted with the information she had just been given. This was going to be a long week. Wufei could be heard muttering words of 'injustice' under his breath on the couch. This had been the reaction of many of the others when Keika demanded that Relena be put under 'house arrest'. Usagi, Michiru and Hotaru were calm and Duo, Haruka, Rei and Wufei were rather mad (Heero was sleeping at the time). Rei, now that she was big enough to take care of herself, could move back to the temple. She would be putting Duo, Ami and Trowa up for awhile. Minako would stay at Haruka's so she could help take care of Makoto. 

"You know," Haruka said loudly from the kitchen, where she was watching Setsuna cut Michiru's hair, "I think this is going to be very interesting." Hotaru forced a small smile...something felt _wrong_.   
"Are you okay, Hotaru? I thought I just saw something come over you," Keika said.  
"No. I'm fine." Hotaru said softly.   
"Hotaru, it's your turn to make dinner!" Haruka said,  
"Sure," Hotaru said, and grabbed a pillow to put under Heero's head so he wouldn't wake.   
"It's not Hotaru's turn, _Haruka_, she made dinner the day before yesterday, I think you should make dinner." Michiru said when Hotaru walked into the kitchen.  
"I don't want to." Haruka replied stubbornly.  
"I will." Minako said, "I'll order something...er, pizza?"  
"I don't think--" Michiru started,  
"Sure," Said Haruka, "Pizza's good."  
"Hang on, guys, I wanted to try speeding time up on Makoto again," Setsuna said, just then, Duo and Rei entered the kitchen.  
"Huh?" Duo said, grabbing a bag of chips that Haruka had been munching on.   
"Hey! Give those back you stupid son of a bitch!"   
"_Ohhhh_ it must be that time of the month again," Duo said returning the chips. Haruka glared at him.   
"Duo, how many times have I told you not to mention that...?" Rei whispered under her breath.  
"Oh, sorry babe."  
"Makoto is in the back yard with Mina-chan and Trowa." Rei said. "Are you sure this will work, Setsuna-san?"  
"No, I'm not. Quatre presented the thought that perhaps she didn't want her memories back, and it seems to me that she needs them to grow."  
"Might as well do it now, before Relena gets back with Usagi."  
"Good idea, don't know what's taking them so long..." Rei said, and followed a walking Duo, Setsuna and Hotaru.   
"Your not done with my hair yet, Setsuna!" Michiru yelled.  
"Yes I am, look in the mirror,"

"So, you wanna try again, huh?" Minako said, seeing Sailorpluto, Duo, Rei and Hotaru coming out onto the lawn. Pluto nodded.  
"Hey, Mako-chan, come here," Minako said, and bent down to Makoto's level. "Do you want to see some magic?" She asked, Makoto nodded eagerly. "Okay, Setsuna's gonna do some, so don't be scared, okay, just stand over there." Minako pointed to the picnic table, and Makoto climbed up on it. Setsuna called upon her powers and white smoke filled the air around them, engulfing everyone. When the smoke cleared, Makoto was still standing on the table, and still only 3 years old. However, Duo was screaming.  
"AAAHHH! YOU TURNED ME INTO A WOMAN!!" He yelled, touching his braid.  
"Duo..." Rei said, hands on hips, "Don't be an idiot."  
"Oh, wait, I've always had long hair, huh?" Duo said, and threw his braid back, "Ha, sure!"   
"Damn it, it didn't work," Pluto whispered after Duo's yelling was over.   
"That waz some nice magic, Setsuna-san, but what did it do? Cauz' I know that Duo's a woman already..."  
"Hey! I am not a woman!"

***

Relena and Usagi walked into the house, Usagi was exhausted, and it was 8:30. She and Relena had just spent nearly three hours arguing over what Relena needed to bring. Relena didn't bring anything, no clothes, nothing, so, she insisted on going shopping. This, of course meant going to a bank, transferring money from some persons account (which was illegal, btw,), and going shopping. Usagi learned one thing from this trip: she did not like this girl, Relena Peacecraft, not one bit. She plunked down her bag, and suddenly heard a loud gasp followed by a squeak of surprise. She walked down the hall, holding her hand up to make Relena stay, and walked into Hotaru's room. Her light was on, and in the center of her room, sixteen star-shaped jewels floated magically in a perfect circle. Each was a different color, and they were rotating around a silver shaped star jewel.  
"Wha- what is that, Hotaru?"  
"I don't know..." Hotaru said, and backed up a ways. Suddenly, a black light began to emit from the purple jewel, and it grew bigger, and suddenly, it detached itself from the purple jewel. The jewel wavered a bit on it's axis, and started to fade, all this while, the black light moved towards the center of the circle, and engulfed the golden jewel. It entered the jewel, and began to pulse, the jewel faded out completely, leaving only the black light. In unison, the other jewels began to fade, except 5, which were the darkest colors, copper, bronze, silver, emerald and black. The black light expanded, and engulfed the others, and a white light issued from it, and in a spark, the whole scene disappered, leaving only the black light, then it too, disappeared. 

In another flash of light, the star shaped jewels were back, and the black light was contained in the purple stone again. This time, instead of the light leaving the jewel, the silver jewel began to move from it's axis and make it's way towards the purple stone, and when it touched it, there was a flash of white light, and the black light in the purple stone was extinguished, the silver jewel was retured to it's original place, and the stones continued to rotate regularly.   
"Usagi, do you think these jewels mean something?"  
"I don't know..."  
"I know," Keika said from behind them. "The jewels each represent someone. Usagi's the golden one. The red is Mars; green, Jupiter, see it's smaller then the others? Blue, Mercury; Yellow, Venus; Aqua, Neptune; royal blue, Uranus; dark green, Pluto, and Hotaru, your purple."  
"What about these five?" Usagi said pointing"  
"Those are the pilots, which ones, I'm not sure."  
"What's the black light?"  
"It's what I came here to fight. You've felt it before, ne, Hotaru? That you have evil inside you?"  
"Hai, I have."  
"It's there again, and it will destroy Usagi unless we get this silver star," She pointed to the silver jewel, "to rid you of the evil."  
"How do we do that?" Usagi asked.  
"No idea, but you just saw your fate, if we don't find which pilot is the silver star, then your destiny will become the first vision."


	5. 

Chapter 5By:

Chapter 5  
By: Kohan

***  
AN: Gomen, please ignore spelling errors, my computer is on the fritz.  
***

The morning after Hotaru and Usagi saw the star prediction, everyone in the house was extremely tired. Rei was busy helping Duo and Ami move to the temple, and Heero was still getting over his sickness. Relena was unhappy and crabby because she didn't get an ounce of sleep the night before (she complained of Usagi, Hotaru, Wufei, Rei and Duo talking too loudly), and Makoto was fussy because she had missed out on all the action. Relena was sitting stiffly on the couch watching the news, while Usagi, Wufei and Hotaru sat in the kitchen talking in hushed tones over coffee.   
"Do you think this has anything to do with Relena?"  
"I don't know, she could be just a destraction, having nothing to do with this at all." Wufei said to Usagi.   
"Are you worried?" Usagi asked Wufei.  
"Of course I'm worried, onna! If we don't find this silver star person soon..."  
"I'm sorry Hotaru...that these things happen to you...why couldn't it have been me?"  
"I wouldn't wish my fate on even Relena, Usagi." Hotaru said, "I guess someone up there really doesn't like me." She smiled a bit and took a sip of her coffee.   
"Don't say that Hotaru, I know you've had a bad fate, but surely it must be a coincidence..."  
"I don't know, Usagi..." Hotaru said quickly, she noticed that Heero was on his way into the kitchen. "Listen...don't say anything to Heero about this, okay? I'll tell him later..." She said in a hushed voice, then louder, to Heero, "Would you like some coffee, Heero?"  
"Now you give me coffee,"   
"Get over it Yuy, she just didn't want you to get worse!" Wufei yelled. "Come and sit down, you don't want to go sit with Miss Relena over there, do you?"  
"Hn," Heero said and frowned. He sat down and took the cup Hotaru offered to him.   
"Could we pleased not bring Relena into this conversation?" Usagi said, "At first I thought she was nice, but she seems a bit stuck up."  
"Every rose has it's thorn." Wufei said and looked into his coffee.  
"That was very poetic, Wu-chan!" Usagi said and smiled. Wufei smiled crookedly and took a sip of his coffee, obviously thinking very hard.  
"Good morning, minna-san." Keika said, coming into the kitchen. "Hey, is that coffee? I've never had coffee before! Oh, hi, Heero...feeling better?" Heero nodded, eyeing the pink haired girl oddly.   
"Do you want to go shopping today, Keika-chan? We could get you some clothes that fit you." Usagi suggested. Everyone was still in their pajamas, and Keika was wearing a shirt and shorts of Usagi's.   
"I don't know, Usagi...don't you think we should stay here...since, you know." She jerked her head in Relena's direction and then in Hotaru's direction. Heero gave a critical look, then narrowed his eyes.   
"Do you have chronic neck-twich disease or something?" He asked, Keika looked down.   
"I think we should have a meeting...with everyone." Usagi said.   
"Everyone?" Hotaru asked, swallowing hard. Usagi nodded, Heero just looked confused. 

***

In the living room, where everyone had been called together, the group sat silently, scattered on various furniture. Usagi sat calmly, letting the silence set in before she began.  
"As a few of you may know...because I know things get around..." She started, eyeing Keika, "Hotaru and I recieved a..."  
"Vision," Keika put in.   
"Vision. We recieved a vision in the form of floating stars...er, jewels...and Keika was able to interprte it for us. Basically what it was...there was a star in the center...a golden star...it represents me somehow, and there were others, other stars. They all floated in midair, and one was purple...Hotaru's--...but there was something inside it..." Usagi paused for a few moments, and when she didn't continue, Hotaru picked up where she had left off.  
"And, as the vision progressed, the black light that was inside my star disabled it, and took it over. The light then moved to Usagi's and did the same. After Usagi's was gone the rest of the stars except for 5 disappeared. The vision replaced itself with a new one, the same set up, but a silver star moved out of it's place and connected with my purple star and the black light inside it was gone."  
"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Rei asked.   
"I...I didn't know what to say..." Hotaru started, but Rei cut her off.  
"Well you should have known that we would want to know! _Need_ to know!"  
"Rei, Hotaru didn't know how to take it in...I didn't tell you guys either, it's not all her fault."  
"I'm sorry." Rei said, "I'm just upset." She leaned back on Duo who was slumped in the corner of the couch. Heero put a hand on Hotaru's shoulder and squeezed it lightly.  
"So the question is what are we going to do about it?" Minako said.   
"We should take Usagi away from here." Keika said.  
"No!" Usagi said.   
"Look, Usagi, Princess. I am your guardian, and I know what is best for you...until we find out who is the silver star...our savior, you can't be around here...around Hotaru."  
"And you think isolating Hotaru will make things any better?" Heero said coldly, pulling on his Perfect Soldier mask.   
"No...not isolating her...just taking Usagi somewhere."  
"Oh, so isolating Usagi?" Wufei said.  
"_No_. You're not letting me explain." Keika said, "I say we take Usagi somewhere for awhile...a few people can go with her, just someplace Hotaru doesn't know where she is..."  
"She is in the room you know," Duo said, somewhat angered.   
"I know that! It's not Hotaru that we have to fear, it's what is inside her!!"  
"I agree with Keika." Hotaru said quietly. "I don't want Usagi getting hurt. Wufei, Minako and Makoto should go with her...I don't want Mako-chan's innocents ruined."  
"Hotaru," Usagi said, tears were gathering in her eyes. "no...what if we don't find the silver star!?"  
"Then I guess I'll be seeing you."

***

"Wu-chan, I don't want to leave...no offense to you or anything."  
"I know Usagi." Wufei said, handing a flight attendant their tickets. "It'll be hard for me...seeing my homecountry...I wonder how different it will be here in the past then it is in the future."   
"I personally am excited...I know I'll miss them...we'll see them again, Usagi." Minako said, picking up Makoto. They took their seats on the airplane and a voice came on over the intercom.   
"Please fasten your seatbelts, we will be taking off for China shortly. At this time please turn off any electronic appliances."  
"This isn't a good idea, Wufei." Usagi said, holding onto her arm rests in a white figered grip.   
"Do you have a fear of flying, Onna?" Wufei asked, prying Usagi's fingers off the arm rest.   
"N-no...why would you say that?"  
"Calm down, Usagi, this will be an adventure." Keika said, from Usagi's right.   
"Yeah! We can go shopping!!" Minako said, enthusiastically. Usagi nodded a little, then closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She was going to make it through this...

***

"Guess who I saw on our way back from taking Usagi and minna to the airport?" Rei said to Hotaru after they had entered the house again, turning off all the lights and sinking into the couch.   
"Who?" Duo asked, opening the refrigerator (It's Duo, c'mon!)  
"Yeah, who?" Haruka asked, yawning loudly.  
"Sunshine boy."  
"Mammoru?" Michiru said, questioningly.  
"Yup."   
"That's interesting. Did he acknowledge you at all?" Ami asked.  
"Uh, Ami, you were there with us." Rei said, smiling.   
"Oh yeah." Ami said, and sweatdropped.  
"What did you do, fry a few brain cells or something? It's not like you to be ditzy, Ami."   
"I know...I've just had a few things on my mind lately."  
"Uh-huh..." Duo said, a smile on his face as he dropped himself in front of the TV with a soda and sandwich.  
"_Excuse me_," Haruka said, looking at Duo, "Do you mind eating that in the kitchen?"  
"Wha? Oh, sorry." Duo said, getting up. "Habit." He walked into the kitchen and let the door fall back behind him.   
"_Duo!_"  
"It wasn't me! Oh...reflex. What?" He stuck his head back into the room. Rei pointed to the soda still sitting on the floor. "Oh! I knew I was missing something!!"   
"Oh boy..." Rei whispered, and sighed. 

***

"Onna, calm down...relax...it's like going into space..." Wufei said quietly to Usagi, she was looking quite pale.  
"Like going into space...riiiiggghhtt..."  
"Wufei-chan, you might not want to say something like that...Usagi hasn't been to space normally..." Minako said.   
"Think of it this way, it's like a mission..."  
"No missions."  
"Being in a Gundam..."  
"No Gundams." Minako said,  
"A NEW FIGHT THEN!!! Stop arguing with everything I say you stupid woman!"  
"You are a sexist pig." Minako said and stuck her tongue out. Wufei gave her an odd look, he had never seen someone stick their tongue out at him except Duo. He didn't think it was humanly possible.   
"Wu-chan, tell me it will be okay, and it will." Usagi said.  
"It will be fine." Wufei said, staring out the window.  
"Okay...I'm okay...hey this is kinda nice...kinda...!"

***

AN: Okay, sorry it's so short, and sorry it took so long to get out...I was busy. I had other things on my mind. I have excuses...blah blah blah. Anyway...I'll be going now...ta!

Kohan


	6. Ch6

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Usagi looked around at the slow moving landscape, they had caught a ride with a man who let them ride in his cart and they were going about 5 miles per hour...fun.   
"Wufei, we're never going to get there if this guy doesn't hurry up." Usagi whispered.   
"Usagi, you don't have to whisper, he can't understand you." Minako said, Keika nodded and shifted around in the hay.   
"Onna, you shouldn't be complaining! Aren't you glad you off that plane?" Wufei said, sounding a bit annoyed.  
"Well, yeah, but we've been in this...cart for the last two hours! How much longer?" Usagi asked, and Wufei sighed. He then started talking in rapid Chinese to the old man who was driving the cart, and then looked back at Usagi after the man gave his answer.   
"About 10 minutes. Can you live with that?" Usagi nodded and sat quietly. 

***

Haruka sighed, annoyed, and made a grab for the remote. Once she had it in her possession she smirked evilly and turned the channel from Duo's subtitled 'Veggie Tales' to the news.   
"Hey! I was watching that you meanie!" Duo yelled from his position on the floor.  
"Now we're watching this. Get over it."  
"Rei...." Duo whined, Rei wrinkled her nose at him, she was trying to concentrate.   
"Why don't you just quit complaining and go back to the Temple!?" Haruka yelled, holding on dearly to the remote.  
"_Because_ it doesn't have a TV!" Duo made a wild effort to grab the remote from Haruka, but missed.  
"I'm going back to the temple." Rei said, taking Haruka's idea. "I have to do some fire readings anyway...something feels odd."  
"Could it be what Keika was talking about earlier?" Haruka asked, surrendering the remote to Duo, who held it happily.   
"I don't know. It's strange..." Rei said, thinking a bit, "but I haven't had any visions about what Keika was talking about...nothing at all."  
"That is strange." Michiru said from the desk. "Are you having a mental block?"  
"No, I have had visions...just not of that." Said Rei, "Well, I'm going. Duo, you'll have to find your own dinner. Haruka, tell Hotaru goodbye for me?"  
"Sure," Haruka mumbled, crossing her arms and fixing her eyes on a giant singing tomato. Rei opened the door and left. Outside the wind was beginning to pick up, so Rei hugged her small coat tighter around her. When she got to the house by the temple she opened the door, seeing Ami studying at the table, she quietly took off her shoes and changed them. Taking notice of the phone messages, she changed into her temple robes and left through the temple door to have a fire reading.

***

"Wufei, hurry!" Usagi yelled, jumping off the cart.  
"It won't get us there any sooner, Onna!" Wufei called, thanking the man for the usage of his cart. He helped Makoto out of the cart, and she continued to grasp his hand tightly even after his attempts to get her grip off.  
"So what are we going to do for housing, Wufei? We don't have any Chinese money." Minako said.   
"I know. But gold will buy anything around here." He said and pulled out a little white sack.   
"Oh."   
"If we can find a little hut or something, we should be fine. Since it's October, it will get colder faster."  
"What if we can't fine 'a little hut'?" Keika asked."  
"We will. Trust me, the people here are very generous."  
"If your sure..." Minako said, grabbing Makoto, who whimpered a bit at the missed contact with Wufei's hand, but stopped as Minako hushed her. 

The group walked for almost a half hour before they came into the main market square, Wufei immediately knew what to look for, and before long he had made contact with a man Usagi thought must be a salesperson. After about 10 minutes of Wufei and the man's strange Chinese tones, Wufei scowled, but pulled out his white bag and gave the man several gold nuggets. The man smiled wildly, showing several missing teeth and motioned Wufei to follow him.  
"Come on, Onnas. This man is going to show us where we're staying."  
"You mean you didn't even get to see the place before you bought it?!" Keika yelled.  
"It's not how we do things here,"  
"Isn't this a messed up Country..."

***

"What is it, Rei? You've been doing a lot of fire readings lately." Ami asked, as soon as Rei came back from the temple later that night.  
"Something's wrong, but I can't put my finger on it."  
"I know, and I think it has something to do with Keika."  
"You don't think she was telling us the truth...?"  
"No...I don't."

...

"Hotaru!" Duo called from the kitchen, "Do you know where Usagi put my game boy?! If she took it with her, I'll be sooo mad!"  
"It's in her room!" Hotaru yelled, sounding annoyed at Duo...she _was_ trying to get a good night sleep for once.  
"Sure." Duo said, and walked into Usagi's dimly lit room. It wasn't empty, Usagi and Keika's belongings were still in their normal places...how was he supposed to find his freaking game boy in here? The only light in the room was coming from a drawer by Keika's bed. Being the curious Duo that he was, he decided (against his better judgment, cough, cough) to open the door and find out _what_ exactly Keika did with her time. What he saw when he opened it, however, was a perfect model of the solar system as it was. Shining perfectly, it floated above the bottom of the drawer, and turned and sparkled in magnificence. The planets were there, each, a perfect sphere in the model. Who was Keika exactly? The model started to turn and twist until it was deformed, and the Moon was a dark shade of gray, the other planets had lost their color as well, and the sun didn't shine. The planet of ruin, Saturn, was glowing with a dark light...Keika obviously wasn't who she said she was, but could this be another prediction? Duo closed the door and ran out of the room quickly.  
"Hey Heero! H-heero Yuy, where the hell are ya when I need ya?!" Duo yelled, while running around through the house. He found Heero sitting in the livingroom watching the news by himself -- Haruka had abandoned the TV. "Heero, buddy..." Duo said, Heero tried to silence him with a hand, he was intent on watching the news, but Duo persisted. "What does 'Keika' mean in English...how is it translated exactly?"  
"Light of a firefly." Heero said, his eyes still on the television screen.  
"And 'Hotaru' means firefly?" Duo asked, and didn't give Heero time to nod before the color drained from his face. "Oh shit! Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!!"  
"Duo...what...?"  
"I got to go, man...be back later!" Duo yelled and headed for the door. "Shit...shit..."

***

"I have been having my own suspicions about Keika, Rei." Ami said, and motioned for Rei to sit down. She turned her computer around so it faced Rei. "See, Keika says that she came from the Moon Kingdom. Well, she didn't say it outright or anything, but that's what you gather from it, right?" Rei nodded. "Well, Luna and Artemis...they didn't come from the Moon Kingdom, they came from a different planet. Keika has told us next to nothing about herself except for the fact that she was here to protect Usagi. She hasn't said if she came from the future, she didn't say that she came from the past, and she would have found us had she been reborn with us...plus, when Luna and Artemis were around, they didn't mention anything about her."  
"What are you saying, Ami? You think Keika could be the enemy."  
"Well, no...I'm not. There's no sufficient evidence that she is, but nothing adds up. She told us about the vision that was in Hotaru's room, and she says that she's here to help Usagi, yet she didn't tell us exactly what the vision meant. Plus there's that bit about her turning human that just doesn't make sense..."

***

Usagi looked around the hut, which was lighted by only the sunlight coming into the window. It was a three roomer. No, not three bedrooms. There was one bedroom, a living area and a kitchen...the bathroom was outside.  
"We would do better to live in a tent..." Keika muttered, sounding sour. Her purple eyes suddenly got black clouds over them, that Usagi had never seen before.   
"What is it Keika?" Usagi asked.  
"Oh...I think I must have left something back in the market....I need to go get it." She said and hurried out the door.  
"Suit yourself." Usagi said, and took another look around. It looked rather cozy to her, and nice. 

...

"What's wrong, Minako?" Usagi asked Minako about a half hour later...Keika had still not returned.   
"Something..."  
"What?"  
"Where did Keika say she was going again?"  
"To get something she left at the market, why?"  
"Usagi...Keika didn't bring anything with her." Minako said.  
"Then where did she go?"  
"She went to find her firefly." Makoto said from the floor, where she had been playing with a few pieces of wood and rocks.  
"Her firefly?" Usagi asked, looking confused. _What firefly?  
_"Yes, she went home to get her firefly."  
"_Home_?" Minako said. "To _Japan_?"  
"How do you know?" Wufei said, turning around from the water pump, Usagi could tell that he was getting suspicious...of what, she still had to figure out.  
"Because I saw her cloud." Makoto stated.  
"Cloud?"   
"Yes! Her cloud! Kitty went home to get firefly!" Makoto said, she was getting flustered, she couldn't describe what she wanted to in the way she wanted.

***

Duo 'walked' into the door of Rei's house by the temple.   
"She...she..._firefly_, light of a firefly..."  
"What is it Duo?" Rei asked, her head in her hands.  
"Keika means 'light of a firefly' in English!! Hotaru means 'firefly' in English...that's why Heero calls Hotaru 'Firefly'!"  
"Great, you figured out what Heero's pet name for Hotaru means,"  
"No wait! I went into her room and I found this thing! It was like a model of the solar system...but it changed! It messed itself up, and everything started to get all gray and stuff..."  
"You found something in who's room?"  
"Keika's, in her bedstand drawer,"  
"Light of a firefly..." Ami said, and thought for a minute. "That vision that Usagi and Hotaru saw must have been staged...fake..."  
"What are you talking about Ami?"  
"Keika isn't really here to help Usagi, she's here to destroy her...she's Hotaru's dark light!" Ami exclaimed.  
"So good of you to bring it out into the open, dear Ami." Said a voice from the doorway. "Unfortunately, you won't live to tell the tale." Keika held a ball of dark purple light in her right hand, and it pulsed when she moved.   
"What is this, Keika?!" Rei said, standing up.  
"Sit. You will know in time. But I can't have you running off to tell your little friends about me, can I?" She said, and a piece of light from her hand snaked it's way around the other three in the room, entwining behind their hands and pulling them together.  
"You can't just leave us here without an explaination!"   
"Don't worry, I intend to give you a full explanation before I kill you."


	7. Ch7

Chapter 7By:

Chapter 7  
By: Kohan

"As it was so good of Ami to state, I am not a cat from the future, past or present." Keika said.  
"No shit!" Duo yelled. "So what the hell are you?"  
"No need to use fowl language, Mr. Maxwell. I'm just a girl with power who wants more. Your Hotaru-chan's going to help me get it. I have been using her power supply ever since I got here...hasn't she looked ill to you?"  
"You can never tell with Hotaru, she's always so pale..." Ami said,  
"No, Ami...she's right, Hotaru has been looking pale lately, remember? She hasn't been pale since back when fought Galaxia..." Rei said.  
"Well, I have been, weather she has been showing it or not, and, the vision I showed Hotaru and Usagi was completely a set-up. However, Duo...I must give you credit, you are rather sneaky." Keika said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I was planning on keeping my plan for the Galaxy a secret, but you had to find my little model, didn't you? Yes, I am very good at making perfect models of whatever I wish."  
"What do you want with Usagi?" Rei asked,  
"Every princess, be they mortal or immortal, has a special gem inside their heart. My race call them the 'Heart Hammers', and they are very powerful...your friend Usagi has the most powerful one in the Universe."  
"I don't understand, it doesn't make any sense..." Ami said, her head had started to droop, evidently Keika's ball of magic to energy from it's captives.  
"Well, let me make it simpler for you then! Maybe I should use a living example, and I have the perfect little rat-eavesdropper." Keika said, and the door suddenly flung open by Keika's power to reveal Relena who had been standing outside it listening to Keika's words. "Little Relena from the Sanq Kingdom..." Keika said grabbing her by the hair. "Why don't you give me your heart...?" Another string of her power snaked towards Relena and turned into a hand and wrapped itself around Relena's neck and went into her chest. Relena's eyes went wide and suddenly blank as they closed and her body went limp. Out came the hand holding a faintly shining rod that was capped on each end with silver. "I knew she would be useful for something one day." she said, Ami gasped,  
"What did you do to her? Will she be all right?"  
"No, she is dead. This is her Heart Hammer, it is useless but for a demonstration...it will disappear in a few moments."  
"You killed her!" Rei yelled, "And your going to kill us and Usagi!"  
"Oh, your smart." Keika said, suddenly a shot rang out. Keika turned around to face the direction where it had come from, there was a bullet hole in the wall right next to her head.   
"Let them go," Perfect monotone replied to her swift movement. A quiver of fear came over Keika, Rei wondered if she could be killed by bullets.   
"Are you going to shoot me, Heero Yuy?" Keika asked, Heero and Hotaru stepped farther into the room.  
"If you don't let them go."  
"Should I fear your bullets?"  
"If you don't fear his bullets, then fear our power," Sailorneptune said, she and Sailoruranus appeared behind Hotaru and Heero. Keika called back her power source and the three who had been captured by it fell to the ground.  
"It doesn't matter, the process has already begun." She smiled. Heero raised his arm to fire again, but Hotaru put her hand on his own.   
"Don't...there may not be a way to save Usagi without her."  
"You've just been touched by an Angel, Demon. I could have killed you." Heero said to Keika, and lowered his gun.  
"How lucky am I? There is nothing you can do for Usagi now, even with my help."  
"What have you done to her?"  
"As I said, the process has started, and will finish...then my people will become victorious, even if you kill me."  
"Save Usagi!" Hotaru yelled.  
"NO! My people will finally have all the power they deserve! And you that have ruled so long will perish!" Keika laughed madly, but it was cut off by a loud gunshot which was fired from Heero's gun...by Hotaru.  
"You _shot_ her, Hotaru." Duo gasped in somewhat mock surprise.  
"She can't save Usagi..." Hotaru said, and dropped the gun, falling to her knees, "How can we...?"  


***

"Usagi, Usagi...are you all right? Can you get up?!"  
"My head is spinning," Usagi gasped, she was on her knees holding her head.  
"It's kitty's fault!" Makoto sobbed, sitting down next to her, holding a teddy bear. "Kitty did this," Makoto put her thumb in her mouth, and Minako scooted her a little bit away so she could kneel next to Usagi with a wet cloth.   
"Take deep breaths, Usagi-chan,"  
"Stand up," Wufei said, his eyes not looking at Usagi, his head was turned towards the door.   
"Wufei, she can't, she'll fall..." Minako said, not noticing what he was looking at, but Usagi grabbed Wufei's offered hand and stood to look at the door too. 

If it had to be described by someone who had never seen such a being, it would be described as a bright light, radiating from one source.   
"What is it, Wu-chan...it's so beautiful,"  
"My name is Queen Edane, and I am here to save you."  
"Save me from what?"  
"From the evil that will take from you. Over the past few months you have been accompanied by one of my people, Keika. She, unfortunately, wasn't here to help you, and now, she is dead. Before she died, she started a process that will rip you apart and go to the heart of your soul, and steal a precious gem from you. I'm here to stop that process. I am Queen of the Hyoushou people, and a small group has formed of us that seeks too much power that we do not need. I am pained to see that it was my own daughter that came for such a pure soul as yourself."  
"Uh..."  
"This won't hurt you, Princess." Queen Edane said, and a thread of white power found it's way into Usagi, and soon she was able to stand straight without Wufei's support, however, he still kept his arm around her. "You are safe now, farewell, Angel." The Queen disappeared.   
"That was really strange." Minako said, still standing. Makoto had wrapped her hands around Minako's legs and was still sucking her thumb.  
"This was all Keika?" Usagi asked sitting down. Outside, it had begun to cloud up, and Usagi could hear the raindrops pouring on the roof. She smiled a little bit, perhaps this was their last battle.

***

"Who are you?"  
"I am Queen Edane, I have just saved your friend and Princess, Usagi."  
"Are you an Angel?" Duo asked the white shining light.  
"No, I'm not, little soldier."  
"Keika...Rei, Ami and Duo...they knew, and we knew too, after Duo ran out, Relena...she followed, and Heero and I followed a few minutes later." Hotaru said,  
"Yes, Keika wanted too much power...it may seem that you destroyed her, but she destroyed herself, really." The light went over to Keika and Relena's fallen bodies, and they disappeared when it touched them. "I must go now, there are many things to sort out at home, if you have more questions, you can find the answers inside yourselves." The light disappeared.  
"So, we were living with a nutcase this whole time?" Sailoruranus asked, lightening the mood. Heero let a sigh escape him, and he picked up his gun and put the safety back on.   
"I need a nap," Duo said, and laid his head on Rei's shoulder who sighed and crossed her arms.  
"Ami, get Usagi on the communicator, tell her that she can come back now...of course, if she wants to spend more time with Wufei we will understand..." Rei said. Ami nodded, and pulled out her communicator. 

***

After talking to Ami for a few minutes, Usagi had decided to stay in China for a few more days, however Minako and Makoto would be leaving that next day. Usagi got up from the chair she had been sitting at and opened the front door to the outside where it was still raining. 

She looked up in the sky, and let the raindrops fall on her face, smiling. She twirled around, and danced in the rain, letting each drop that hit her sink in.  
"What are you doing, Onna?" Wufei said, he had been watching from the doorway.  
"Tasting the raindrops, and dancing in them...celebrating life. Come on, Wu-chan...join me." Wufei shook his head a little, but walked out to Usagi and put his arms around her. "Aren't you happy, Wufei? That this is over... that we're safe?"  
"Yes." They stood in silence for a few moments, "Usagi..."  
"Huh?"  
"Would you ever think of a long-term relationship with anyone...with me?"  
"Like marriage?"  
"Well, yeah."  
"With you, Wu-chan, yes."

***

AN: Okay, there ya go, I know it's kinda short, and that's the last full chapter, I do still have an epilogue left, and that will be it. This fic has been coming out slowly because I've been so busy, school is a drag, as is math homework, so bear with me. I'm still working on another TEW chapter, the second one =), and I don't expect that story to be very long, maybe only 5 or 6 chapters, like this one. Anyway, this story will end the whole Heero/Hotaru, Wufei/Usagi, Duo/Rei series, though I do plan to do an outline of another story that *may* involve some of the same couples in this one, but it won't be related at all. Enough chatter, I'm sure you don't really like listening to me at all, anyway.

-Kohan


	8. Epilogue

EpilogueBy:

Epilogue  
By: Kohan

Through the stillness of the night, the ring of a phone was heard. It echoed through the walls of a small house, just outside Tokyo, Japan, and into the ears of those sleeping there. Hotaru sighed and reached for the telephone, which was on her bedside table. She heard her partner groan in annoyance and turn over.   
"Hello?" She said sleepily, and looked at the clock, it was 1:30 in the morning.   
"Hotaru? Hi! This is Minako!"  
"Hi..."  
"Guess what?!" The woman on the other line asked in a very chipper voice. Hotaru was not in the mood for guessing games, so she let her continue without answering. "Usagi is in labor! So, are you going to come down to the hospital? You and Heero? Please...I told Usagi that I'd make you."   
"Sure, Mina-chan...just give me until about 6:30 when I actually wake up..."  
"Oh, come on, Hotaru, It's her first! Everyone else is here!"  
"All right, all right..." Hotaru said and hung up, no good bye or anything. She turned over and took her sleepy partner by the arm and shook him. Her response was him turning over, grabbing her by the waist and going back to sleep. "Heero...we have to go to the hospital."  
"Why?" He asked, looking up.  
"Usagi's in labor."

***

Hotaru and Heero, now both fully dressed, entered the hospital somewhat more awake then they were before. Hotaru went up to the woman at the front desk and asked in a rather annoyed tone which room Usagi Chang was in. After being directed by the woman (who didn't look so happy herself), Hotaru and Heero made their way down the hospital hall.   
"Heero, over here, buddy!" A cheery voice called from down another hallway. Duo Maxwell, looking spunky as ever (even in his white t-shirt and plaid PJ bottoms) was standing in the middle of the hallway in front of a door that was labeled 'delivery room'. Looking around, Hotaru could see that _all_ her friends were there. Even Makoto, now age 7 had been dragged in by Minako. Minako herself was looking quite...pregnant, and was simply glowing at the fact that she had woken everyone up at 1:30 in the morning. Ami, of course, had work to do, and was busy typing on her laptop while Quatre slept away in the uncomfortable-looking chair. 

It appeared that perhaps Minako had called Rei and Duo last, and it was quite possible that Duo had taken it as 'Usagi is having the baby now' instead of 'Usagi is in labor', because both he and Rei were still in their PJ's. After jumping up and down for a few minutes, (he's still the old Duo,) Duo sat down in a chair next to Rei and busied himself with putting his hair back in a braid.   
"How long have you guys been here?" Hotaru asked, sitting down.   
"About a half hour, how come it took you so long?" Minako said, playing with Makoto's hair.  
"Had to get Heero up." Hotaru said, jerking her thumb in Heero's direction.   
"Oh, right, lazy sleeper, I got two of those at home." Minako said looking in the direction of Makoto and Trowa. 

***

"Come on, Usagi-chan, you know that if I could be doing this, I would..."  
"Liar! You would not! You are too weak!"  
"I am not weak! I am just a little bit in labor here, Wu-chan! If you dont' mind, I would appreciate it if you didn't criticize me so much!"  
"Okay, Usagi,"  
"One more push should do it, Usagi," The doctor, clad in his white mask said to Usagi, who was holding Wufei's hand in the delivery room.

***

The white doors of the delivery room opened, and Wufei walked out, in his hands was what could be seen as a small puff of black hair in a blanket.  
"She's a girl," Wufei said proudly. The others jumped out of their seats and walked over to look at the new arrival.   
"What's her name, Wufei?" Ami asked, she had abandoned her laptop.  
"Yin, Chang Yin."   
"It suits her." Hotaru said and smiled. "Your lucky to be blessed with such a child."

***

Destinies: 

_Aino Minako_ married _Trowa Barton_ and they adopted _Kino Makoto_, after finding out from Setsuna that time could not be sped up on her. They had twin boys named Daniel and Eric. Fourteen years later, Makoto was living on her own, but had still regained none of her past memories, or her memories of the Sailor Senshi.

_Mizuno Ami_ married _Quatre Raberba Winner_ two years after Usagi's first daughter, Yin, was born. Unfortunately, they were unable to have children, and fourteen years later, they had moved to America in search of a new home.

_Hino Rei_ and_ Duo Maxwell_ were blessed with a baby boy whom they named Haruka in honor of Sailoruranus, who was killed doing the thing she loved most, racing. Rei worked in her Grandfather's temple, and Duo helped out there as much as he could, learning the scared ways. Fourteen years later, they were still happily married, and living in the center of Japan, Tokyo.

_Kaioh Michiru_ never recovered from loosing her _Ten'ou Haruka_, and she wasted away into nothingness, longing to be with her love. The senshi had her buried next to Haruka to pay tribute to their everlasting love. Fourteen years later, they were not forgotten.

_Meiou Setsuna_ worked in a labratory for most of her life. She was named godmother to the children of Chang Wufei and Chang Usagi. She made herself famous by finding a cure for cancer, unfortunately, fourteen years later it was not needed.

_Tomoe Hotaru_ and _Yuy Heero_ were married two years before they had children. Their first child, a baby boy, had the fair skin and eyes of his mother, while his hair belonged to his father. Hotaru named him Shinkan. Their second child, who was female, Heero named Kyuuen. Her hair was black, and her eyes were prussian blue. Fourteen years later, the children were still in school, Heero was working for a military coperation, and Hotaru was working as a doctor in Tokyo.

_Chiba Mamoru_ was considered a broken man after he had been reborn. He spent his final days in his apartment thinking over the course of his life. Fourteen years later, he was never seen again.

_Chang Wufei _and_ Chang Usagi_ had two children. Their first daughter, Yin, was 3 years old when their son, Artemis, was born. Wufei taught Usagi to sword fight, and, fourteen years later, Usagi had to put the world into eternal sleep for nearly a century, until it was time for the sleepy world to be awoken.

OWARI

***

AN:

That's it, the end. I had a severe case of not wanting to do anything, so, sorry about the wait. I know it's not that long, but atleast I ended it. I'm not too proud of how it turned out, maybe I'll rewrite it someday. That's it for this series, I'm done. It doesn't need a sequel, and this is what you get. Stay tuned for more of_ The Evil Within_.


End file.
